Mississippi State Women's Golfers Finding Success in National Play

Mississippi State women's golfer Ally McDonald captured the 2013 North & South Women's Amateur title, and she has advanced into the match play stages in her attempt to defend her title at Pinehurst No. 8.

McDonald, who enters the match play portion of the event as the No. 6 seed, captured the title last year as the No. 5 seed.  She plays Regina Plasencia of Guadalajara, Mexico, in the Round of 16 Friday.  The winner of the match will advance to the quarterfinals later in the afternoon.

Should McDonald advance through Friday's play, the semifinals and an 18-hole championship take place on Saturday.

Capturing the title at the North & South Women's Amateur has recently been a harbinger success as eight of the last eleven winners of the event currently play on the LPGA Tour. Among those winners are Morgan Pressel (2004) and Yani Tseng (2005).  Tseng has captured six major titles since joining the tour, and Pressel became the youngest player to win a modern LPGA major title when she captured the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship at the age of 19.

In other golf action, Ji Eun Baik saw her run at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship come to an end in the Round of 16.

Baik opened match play with a 3&2 victory on Wednesday, and she won her first match Thursday 2&1 over Katharine Patrick.

In her Round of 16 match, Baik took a 2-up lead over Dominique Galloway after four holes at the Home Course in Dupont, Washington, and she held that lead through eleven holes.  Galloway went on a birdie barrage, cutting the lead to 1-up with a birdie at No. 12 and squaring the match with another birdie at No. 15.  Galloway birdied Nos. 16 and 17 to claim the match 2&1.